After Us
by kensi54382
Summary: A recently released con-man has come after Booth with all he has. Can Booth survive and still save his family from this man?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I think I have messed up the timeline for the story, but I'm going to leave it the way it is and keep Aubrey rather than Sweets and keep our two main characters unmarried for the time being. Also, there's no Christine or Hank yet.**

Booth couldn't bring himself to smile when Brennan entered his hospital room. He was glad to see her, something she probably already picked up on when she and Aubrey had found him inside the huge water tank. He had been lucky that the water was cold, since it had slowed the bleeding from a gunshot wound in his leg and a stab wound in his stomach, and had also been lucky that the water had really only been waist deep. He had been able to stay conscious longer than he would have in any other circumstance, which had allowed him to use the last of his energy almost twelve hours earlier to get the attention of his fiance and his FBI colleagues. Booth had kept himself awake while Aubrey and another FBI agent had climbed into the tank and rescued him, had even stayed awake long enough to see Brennan and give her a weak, one-armed hug. Then, Booth had passed out, only to wake up in the emergency department of Washington General. He was exhausted once he regained consciousness, but he had forced himself to stay awake throughout the doctor's examination so he could see Brennan. Brennan had told him to rest and to let the doctor operate on him. Her confidence had helped him to relax and she had given the doctor permission to surgically repair the damage. Five minutes after that, Booth was fast asleep from the anesthetic.

Now, twelve hours after being rescued, Booth had just been situated in a room in the intensive care unit, and he was still half asleep. He had woken from his surgery just thirty minutes ago, and the pain medication he had been given was starting to take effect. He could feel his eyelids drooping, which was partly why he didn't feel like smiling.

"How are you feeling?" Brennan asked Booth softly after giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Tired," replied Booth. "Thank you for finding me."

"I always find you, Booth."

"This time... I wasn't sure you would. Not in time, anyway."

"That would never have happened." Brennan smiled. "You should get some rest. The doctor said that the surgery went well, but you have a long recovery ahead." She adjusted the blanket to make sure it was covering her fiance.

Brennan gave Booth's nasal cannula a slight adjustment to make sure that it was sitting properly inside his nose. She checked that the cords for his heart monitor were straight and not stuck underneath Booth's body, ensured that the pulse oximeter and the blood pressure cuff were on correctly so that Booth would be comfortable as he slept, then gave him a smile.

"I'll be here when you wake up again."

* * *

**16 Hours Earlier**

"Brennan, Aubrey's in your office. He says there's something urgent he needs to talk to you about," said Cam.

"Okay. Mr Vaziri, you can continue from here. I'll be back soon," said Brennan as she stripped off her gloves and headed over to her office. "Agent Aubrey? What did you need me for?"

"It's Booth," said Aubrey, and the pain and fear he was feeling was obvious in his voice.

"Booth? What happened?"

"We aren't sure. He was on his way to work when I spoke to him last, and now he's missing."

"Missing? How can he be missing in less than two hours?"

"Local police found Booth's car at the bottom of a ravine. There was blood and glass on the seats."

Brennan shook her head. "No. It isn't Booth's blood. Look, I'll call him right now..."

"We already called him several times. He's not answering. Normally, we wouldn't class someone as missing, but since Booth works for the FBI..."

"He knows way too much valuable information," finished Brennan, knowing that Aubrey wouldn't lie to her about her fiance.

"Has Booth said anything to you about being followed or threatened?"

"No. We did find out that one of the criminals he helped put in prison was released a week ago, though."

"Who was it?"

"His name is Jason Watson. Booth arrested him for selling government files to drug lords."

"Did he ever threaten Booth?"

"I only ever saw one letter from him to Booth, telling Booth that when he got out of prison, he was going to murder him. You don't think it could be him, do you?"

"It's possible. I'll look into him and see what I can find. Do you think you could do something for me?"

"Depends on what it is."

"Can you go home and find me that letter?"

"Of course. I don't know if Booth kept it, but he does have a box of letters and stuff from other cases. I suppose he could have put it in there."

"Thank you, Dr Brennan."

"Please, Aubrey, call me if you find anything. Anything at all. I can't lose Booth."

"I won't let you lose him."

* * *

Aubrey sighed as he got the news he had been dreading- the blood in Booth's car was the missing agent's. There had been a lot of blood, which worried Aubrey, because that amount of blood loss couldn't be good for a person. Added to that, the forensics team that had combed through the car had found two bullets, one of which was red and had some of what turned out to be Booth's skin on it. Aubrey wasn't sure if Booth could have survived a wound like what he must have received, although he knew he would never tell that to Brennan.

"Aubrey, I have it," said Brennan as she stepped into the bull pen at the FBI.

"Have what?" Aubrey asked distractedly.

"The letter you wanted... Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just reading something."

"The blood belongs to him, doesn't it?" Brennan asked dejectedly, sitting on the edge of Aubrey's desk.

"Yes. There were two bullets in the car, too."

"Did they hit him?"

"One did. I don't know where it him, but it did."

"He's going to be fine," Brennan said confidently as she stood up.

* * *

**15 Hours Earlier**

Stumbling as he tried to run, Booth found himself unable to keep going. The bullet that had gone through his leg had left a wound that was still bleeding, even an hour later, and he had already lost a lot of blood. He was getting tired and that pain from his leg was getting worse. He needed to stop and sit, even just for a minute, to catch his breath. Booth sat on a rock and stretched his injured leg in front of him. He had to stop the bleeding before he bled out. He was just about to take his belt off when he heard something nearby.

"Agent Booth? Where are you hiding?!"

"Damn it!" Booth muttered under his breath. "How did he catch up so fast?"

Booth dragged himself up and started limping towards a small group of trees. But, before he could reach them, his leg gave out and he fell to the ground. Groaning, Booth failed to notice his attacker until a knife came towards him from nowhere.

"You are going to die for putting me in prison!"

Booth didn't know how he was going to get out of this mess. He had no weapon- his gun had dropped from his hand a while back- and his attacker was pretty much on top of him. There was nowhere to go. Booth let his mind wander to thoughts of his fiance, and how much he loved her, as the knife stabbed into his stomach, and he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**14 Hours Earlier**

Booth had no idea where he was. It was dark and cold, but also eerily silent. He thought that he could feel something moving slowly around the lower half of his body, but, since he couldn't see anything, he couldn't be sure. Booth couldn't feel his leg anymore, but he could still feel his stomach burning where the knife had been stabbed into him. Blood was definitely leaking out from the wound, but it wasn't gushing, which came as a relief to Booth. Slowly, Booth reached his left hand out to the side of him, hoping to feel something that would help him determine his surroundings. As he moved his hand backwards, he felt something hard and curved.

"What the hell?" Booth muttered as he ran his hand along what he thought might be a wall. "Where am I?"

Booth frowned. He pulled his hand back and slowly moved his left leg forward. He jumped when he realised that he was standing in water.

"Ouch!" Booth cried as he landed badly on his injured right leg and stumbled backwards into the wall behind him.

Water sloshed around as Booth attempted to drag himself into a standing position against the wall. Booth felt his leg give out again, and he dropped down the wall into the water. He tried to keep his head above the water, but was unsuccessful and swallowed some. Pushing himself back up, Booth coughed and spluttered for a couple of minutes.

"Bones," Booth whispered. "Please find me."

* * *

**13 Hours Earlier**

"Dr Brennan!" Aubrey shouted as he ran into the lab. "We found him!"

Brennan looked up from where she was attempting to work on a body. "Booth?" she asked desperately.

"Yes. FBI agents are on the way now, but I thought it would be easier for him to see you in the crowd of faces. Are you coming?"

Brennan peeled off her gloves and rushed over to Aubrey. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you in the car. We need to go now, it's going to take us at least forty-five minutes to get there."

Aubrey didn't wait. He started running back to his car, knowing that Brennan was right behind him. He had no doubt that the information he had received from the BOLO he had issued that morning was correct. That was why he had sent agents out ahead of him. If the person that had called it in was correct, Booth wouldn't have much time before he passed out, maybe even died. Aubrey couldn't let that happen.

"Where are we going?" Brennan asked again once she and Aubrey were seated in his car.

"Germantown. Someone reported seeing a man matching Booth's description being dragged into a water farm, just behind the Bretton Woods Golf Course," answered Aubrey as he sped out of the Jeffersonian's carpark.

"Water farm?"

"It's basically a big piece of land holding hundreds of water tanks that feed the Germantown and Poolsville areas. The tanks can be filled with more than ten feet of water. Anyone that has to work on the tanks has to wear scuba masks and oxygen tanks."

"Booth is somewhere around them?"

"Probably inside one of them," said Aubrey, feeling guilty that he had to be the one to tell Brennan this.

"Inside?!"

"We don't know how full the tanks are. There hasn't been much rain lately..."

"But he still could be drowning?! Aubrey, we need to save him!"

"We will. The agents that get there before us will search the farm and hopefully locate Booth so we can just go straight there. An ambulance will be en route as well so we can take him to the hospital."

"How can you be so calm?!"

"I have to be. If I'm not, then both of us will be sharing a room with Booth pretty soon. I need to concentrate. I'll lose it once we find and get Booth to safety."

* * *

Booth was exhausted now. He had been using all of his energy to stay upright in the water. His leg was burning again, so was his stomach, and he was finding it harder to breathe the longer he spent in the water. He still had no clue as to where he was, but he knew that if he could keep still, the water wouldn't pull him under again. His feet were touching the bottom of whatever his prison was, but the injured leg had no strength in it, and it was all Booth could do to keep standing on it.

* * *

Brennan was glad to finally reach the water farm. Aubrey had gotten a call from another FBI agent ten minutes earlier to say that they had narrowed the search area to a grid of four tanks in the northeast corner of the farm, so Aubrey had driven his car straight there, but it had still taken them precious time that they could have been using to save Booth.

"Can you do this Dr Brennan?" Aubrey asked as he grabbed a blanket and a water bottle from the trunk of his car.

"He's my fiance. What do you think?" Brennan said as she walked to the nearest tank and knocked on it. The quiet thud told her that the tank was filled with water.

"Agent Aubrey!" shouted someone from behind the next tank. "We think we have him!"

Brennan pushed past Aubrey and ran over. "Booth!" she shouted as she banged on the side of the tank. "Booth! Can you hear me?!"

There was a slightly muffled sound that answered Brennan's cries. For a moment, everyone was silent, listening hard for any other sounds that could tell them that the missing FBI agent was inside that tank.

"Booth?!" Aubrey called after a moment of silence.

"Help..." came another muffled cry.

"We're coming, Booth!" shouted Aubrey as he handed the water bottle and blanket to Brennan.

Three minutes later, Aubrey and a second FBI agent were standing at the top of the water tank, unscrewing the giant lid. Aubrey lowered a ladder into the tank and held it steady while the other agent climbed down it, wearing a diving suit for safety.

"Is it Booth?" Aubrey asked once he heard a splash that told him the agent was in the tank.

"Give me a moment," said the agent as he turned on a flashlight and slowly searched the tank. "Alright, I got him, Agent Aubrey! I need two minutes, then I'm bringing him up."

* * *

Booth could hear it. He could definitely hear it. Something or someone was banging on the side of his watery prison. He briefly wondered if his colleagues had found him, but then decided that it was more likely that his attacker was back. Booth decided that it would be better for him to stay quiet until he could be sure of who was out there.

"Agent Aubrey! We think we have him!" Booth heard, and, just moments later, he heard:

"Booth! Can you hear me?!"

That voice belonged to Brennan, he knew it. He knew that it was her. There was no mistaking that voice after almost ten years of working together.

"Bones? Bones, help me!" Booth called as loud as he could.

"Booth?!" called another voice a couple of minutes later.

"Help!" Booth shouted, just before he felt his leg giving way again.

Before Booth could pull himself back up the wall, however, there was a loud creaking sound and sunlight burst into his prison. Booth squeezed his eyes shut against the slim rays of light and dragged himself out of the water as best as he could.

"Alright, I got him, Agent Aubrey! I need two minutes, then I'm bringing him up."

Booth opened his eyes a fraction and found one of his colleagues standing in front of him.

"Agent Booth, where are you hurt?" asked the agent, having shone his flashlight onto something red in the water.

"My stomach and my right leg," answered Booth as the agent moved his light to check Booth's stomach.

"Looks like a stab wound in your stomach. Is your leg the same?"

"No. That's a bullet wound. Listen, can we get out of here? It's cold."

The agent nodded and took Booth's hand. He slowly helped Booth walk through the water and over to the ladder. "Hold on and Agent Aubrey will pull you up."

Booth silently took hold of the ladder and a second later, he was rising out of the water through a hole in the top of his prison.

"Where's Bones?" Booth asked, his teeth chattering, as Aubrey pulled him up and helped him over to another ladder on the side of what now looked like a water tank to Booth.

"Down there." Aubrey pointed to a small crowd of people. "Do you think you can climb down on your own?"

"We're going to find out." Booth turned around and slowly put his left foot onto the ladder. Carefully, he made his way down, stopping once to regain his footing after his injured leg slipped on a rung.

"Booth!" shouted Brennan as she rushed up and caught him before he could collapse onto the ground. "I was so worried about you."

"Yeah?" Booth asked in a whisper once he had hugged Brennan. "You're going to be more worried in a moment..."

"What are you talking about?" Brennan asked.

"I love you, Bones." Booth gave his fiance a small smile before he passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Brennan felt tears welling in her eyes as she watched an FBI agent wrap Booth in a warm blanket. She didn't know what to do for her fiance and it was hurting her to see him injured.

"Ma'am, I need you to move so I can examine him," said a kind paramedic. "We need to get his injuries stabilised so we can take him to the hospital."

"He's lost a lot of blood," said Brennan.

"Which is why we need to work fast. You can come with us in the ambulance if you like."

Brennan nodded. She took a small step backwards, but her eyes never left Booth while the paramedics worked and got the bleeding from his leg and stomach under control. She watched them cut Booth's tie and shirt to dry him before they attached a heart monitor, and tears started to burn her eyes again. She hated seeing him injured, but his injuries usually weren't life threatening. It was scary.

* * *

"Dr Brennan? Did you hear what I said?" asked the doctor that had taken over Booth's care once they had arrived at the hospital. "Agent Booth is asking for you."

"He's awake," Brennan said once the doctor had led her to where Booth was being examined.

"He is. I need to operate on him to stop the bleeding, though. I need your permission for that."

"Fine. Do what you need to do, but I want to speak to him first."

"Of course." The doctor smiled and stepped aside so that Brennan could get a little closer to Booth.

"Bones," Booth whispered tiredly.

"Hey... I missed you," said Brennan just as quietly.

"Doctor... he says... I need surgery."

"Yeah, I heard. I told him to do it."

"No."

"Too late. I can't lose you, Booth. I can't."

"I don't want..."

"Yeah, I know you don't. You need it to stay alive. You've already lost too much blood."

"Stay?"

"I'll be right here, I promise." Brennan took Booth's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. "Just relax and let the doctor help you."

Booth nodded. He closed his eyes, but never once let go of Brennan's hand.

* * *

**11 Hours Later**

"How are you feeling?" Brennan asked Booth softly after giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek. She had just been allowed back in Booth's room. His surgery had been successful, and he had just been moved into the ICU.

"Tired," replied Booth. "Thank you for finding me."

"I always find you, Booth."

"This time... I wasn't sure you would. Not in time, anyway."

"That would never have happened." Brennan smiled, though she knew that Booth's fear was a very real one. She had thought the same thing at one point. "You should get some rest. The doctor said that the surgery went well, but you have a long recovery ahead." She adjusted the blanket to make sure it was covering her fiance.

Brennan gave Booth's nasal cannula a slight adjustment to make sure that it was sitting properly inside his nose. She checked that the cords for his heart monitor were straight and not stuck underneath Booth's body, ensured that the pulse oximeter and the blood pressure cuff were on correctly so that Booth would be comfortable as he slept, then gave him a smile.

"I'll be here when you wake up again." Brennan sat down in a chair and pulled it close to the bed. "I promise."

"I love you," whispered Booth as he succumbed to the much needed sleep and darkness.

Brennan waited until Booth was asleep, then stood up and stepped over to the window, phone in hand. She dialed the familiar number and waited a moment for the call to connect.

"Sweetie? Are you still at the hospital?"

"I am, Angela. Listen, Booth just came out of recovery and is resting. His surgery was successful, but he's still got a long road ahead. Is there any chance you can tell everyone? I don't want to leave him yet." Brennan glanced over at her fiance.

"Of course I can. We'll all come up in the morning. Text me his room number."

"Thanks, Ange," said Brennan gratefully. She ended the call and stared out of the window for a few minutes, seeing nothing as she let herself get lost in her thoughts.

* * *

"Guys!" shouted Angela as she ran from her office and into Cam's. "I have news!"

"Tell me it's good," said Aubrey. He had been a nervous wreck ever since finding Booth and not being able to help his friend.

"Brennan called. Booth's out of surgery and the doctor says he'll be okay. He's going to be in hospital for a while, I think, but it's going to be okay," said Angela.

"Thank god," breathed Cam as she dropped into her desk chair. "I don't think any of us would be able to cope without Booth."

"Can we see him?" asked Hodgins after hugging Angela.

"In the morning. Brennan wants some time with him first," answered Angela.

"Of course. We'll go there as soon as visiting hours start tomorrow." Hodgins looked at Cam. "Can we leave early today?"

"Yes, of course. Go home, do something. I'm going to finish up a report and then go and check on Dr Brennan. I'll see you all tomorrow."

* * *

"Dr Brennan? Can I come in?" asked Cam as she stood in the doorway of Booth's hospital room.

"Sure... Angela told you about Booth?" Brennan asked without looking.

"She did. We're all going to be here in the morning, but I wanted to check on you. Have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah." Brennan stood up from her chair. "Booth didn't want his dinner. I ate some of it, but I think I'll be bringing him food when he's up to it."

"He likes the puddings here, I heard."

"He does. I told that to the nurses and they've said that they will make sure he has plenty of them."

"That was nice of them. How's Booth doing?"

Brennan sighed. "The doctor checked on him an hour ago and said that he's doing okay considering his injuries. I just think that something's off, and I don't know what it is."

"Has Booth spoken yet?"

"Little bits. He's exhausted and doesn't seem to be able to stay awake for more than ten minutes at a time. He's letting the nurses and doctor administer pain medication, which is worrying. He hates taking medication."

"I'm sure that it's just for now. He'll start refusing them once he's more awake."

Brennan nodded and walked over to the window again. She stared out at the traffic for a moment before talking again. "Do you think you could stay with Booth for a while, Cam? I need to get some air."

"Of course I can," said Cam, nodding. "Are you okay?"

"No. I just need to think, and I find that it's hard for me to do that in here. I almost lost him, and then, when we did find him again, I was so afraid of what I would see that I didn't let myself think about anything. I need to think about it now."

"I understand. Go, take as much time as you need. I'll be here until you get back." Cam hugged Brennan for a moment, then pulled back and sat on the chair that Brennan had vacated. "What should I tell him if he wakes up?"

"Tell him I'm coming back. He'll probably know where I am anyway."

"Okay." Cam watched Brennan leave. "Call me if you need me to come."

"Thank you, Cam."


	4. Chapter 4

Booth awoke to find Cam sitting with him, reading a magazine, and Brennan nowhere in the room. Confused, he looked around the room, hoping to find his fiance exiting the bathroom.

"Hey, you're awake," said Cam softly as she put her magazine down. "Are you alright?"

"Where's Bones?" Booth asked. "And the water?" he added when his throat started hurting.

Cam picked up a cup of water and a straw. She put the straw into the cup and held it up to Booth's mouth. "Brennan's just gone outside. She wanted some air. She'll be back soon."

"Okay." Booth yawned. "Camille?"

"I thought we agreed to not use Camille and Seeley when we talk to each other?" Cam asked jokingly.

"Right... Camille?" asked Booth.

"Is something wrong, Seeley?" Cam asked worriedly. He only ever used her full name to annoy her, or, when they were younger, if something was hurting him.

"Hurts... Can you get a nurse?"

"Sure." Cam stood up and reached behind Booth's head to push the 'call' button. "Do you want me to get you something? Food or more water?"

"Water." Booth had to smile when the water cup appeared in front of his face immediately. "Thanks."

"Anything else?"

"Bones."

"I'll call her..."

"I'm here, Cam," said Bones as she followed a nurse into the room. "What's the matter, Booth?"

"Sore."

"I can fix that," said the nurse kindly as she injected morphine into Booth's IV. "It should work in a moment. Is it okay if I check your wounds before I leave?"

"Okay." Booth looked at Brennan. "Bones?"

"I'm here." Brennan sat on the side of the bed, holding Booth's hand. She could see that he was still confused, and it broke her heart that he had to go through all of this. "Everyone will be here in the morning. Angela will probably bring you something."

"Aubrey?"

"Pretty sure he'll be here." Brennan looked at Cam. "Did anyone tell him about Booth?"

"He was in my office when Angela told us. He's missing Booth," said Cam. "I'll make sure he comes with me in the morning."

"Thank you, Camille," said Booth as he finally felt the morphine working and his eyes started to close again.

After a few minutes, Brennan looked at Cam. "Thank you, Cam. I know that Booth would have appreciated that you were here when he woke up."

"It's not a problem. Booth has been like a little brother to me for so long that I would do anything for him. Did you get enough air?"

"I think it's enough for now. I found it very hard to go far. My thoughts were still here, with Booth."

"That's understandable."

"He's so confused when he's awake. I don't know how to help him."

"He just needs rest. He'll be more alert in the morning." Cam stood. "I'm going. I'll come back in the morning. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"Just bring Aubrey. Booth wants him."

"I can do that." Cam smiled. "Make sure you get some rest, Dr Brennan."

* * *

The next time Booth awoke, sun was shining into his hospital room through the partially open curtains on the window. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from the heart monitor he was still attached to. He was still relatively pain free, though he could feel that his leg was throbbing where the bullet had entered his thigh.

"Bones?" Booth asked as he looked around the room.

"I'm here," said Brennan quietly.

Booth looked in the direction of Brennan's voice and noticed that she was sitting near the window with a book in her hand. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty. Are you in pain?"

"Not really. I would like to sit up a bit though. Am I allowed to?"

Brennan smiled. "Of course. Let me help you."

Booth watched Brennan's face as she walked to the bed. He could see that something had changed from when he had first called out to her. She seemed more relaxed, or maybe just less sad.

"Booth? Are you listening?" Brennan asked.

Booth blinked his eyes a couple of times. "Sorry. I was just thinking. Are you alright? You look sad."

Brennan sighed. She adjusted the head of Booth's bed and readjusted his blanket, then looked at him. "I am sad."

"Why?"

She sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, I am worried about you. Last night, every time you woke up, you were so confused, it scared me. I didn't know what was going on. Cam said that you are just needing rest, and she's right, but I was still afraid."

"I would be too if our positions were reversed."

"It's not just that... You're really pale, you lost so much blood. You lost more blood in surgery. I know that the doctor is giving you blood transfusions, but I still feel like it's not enough. I don't want to lose you."

Booth took Brennan's hand and held on tightly. "You aren't going to lose me. Thanks to you and Aubrey, I'm alive. I remember you saying sometime yesterday that the surgery was successful. I'll be okay."

"You have such a long recovery ahead, Booth."

"And you'll be there with me every step of the way, I'm sure. That's always how it works with us. Bones, even if it takes me months to recover from this, I will get better. I will get back to work and find criminals and put them in prison, just like always."

Brennan had to smile. She loved how optimistic her fiance was. Even now, when he was clearly uncomfortable and exhausted, he was being optimistic and cheery.

"Now, can I have a kiss before they all decide that they can't wait any longer and come in?" Booth asked, looking at the door to his room.

Brennan grinned. She leaned forward and gently kissed Booth's lips, making sure she didn't rest too much on his body. She still felt worried, but she couldn't deny that Booth was correct about getting better.


	5. Chapter 5

Once Brennan pulled away and ended the kiss, Booth sighed. He had been enjoying the intimate action immensely.

"We can do that again later," said Brennan, reading his mind. "You have visitors and I need the bathroom."

"Don't let them in until you get back, okay?" Booth asked.

"Whatever you want. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to make sure that someone will keep me from being squashed underneath their hugs."

Brennan laughed. "I can do that. Give me a moment." She disappeared into Booth's bathroom for a couple of minutes, then returned looking refreshed. "Ready?" she asked Booth before going to the door.

"I'm ready."

"Okay." Brennan opened the door and stepped to the side, allowing their friends to enter the room.

"Booth!" exclaimed Angela as she rushed over to the bed, carrying flowers and something that looked like chocolate.

"Hi, Angela," said Booth warily.

"We've been so worried about you," said Hodgins once he had managed to pull Angela off of Booth. "We're glad that you're safe and that you're going to be okay."

"I'll be alright. Brennan told me that it will be a long recovery, but I plan on making it shorter than the doctor thinks."

Hodgins laughed. "I don't doubt that, Booth. And, we'll all be here to help you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it."

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it." Booth glanced at Brennan. "Hey, Hodgins?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you do something for me?"

"Of course."

"Get Angela to take Bones out for a while this afternoon. She needs to relax, and that isn't going to happen here."

"I can do that."

"Also, I need you to pick something up for me. It's in my apartment. You can't tell anyone what it is, though."

"Why?"

"Because I need it to surprise Bones."

"Is it what I think it is?"

"Maybe. You'll find it in the bottom drawer of my right bedside table, underneath the papers I've got in there. The key is on my key ring. I assume Bones or Aubrey will have my car keys."

"Brennan has them. She refused to part with them while we were searching for you. I'll get them from her."

"Tell her that you're getting me some clothes while she helps Angela with something. That will be the only way you're getting the keys from her."

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. You can rest."

"Thanks, Hodgins." Booth looked around at his friends. "Hey, where's Cam and Aubrey?"

"I don't know. Cam called to say they were coming, but would be a little late. Do you want me to call them?"

"I want to call them. Can I use your phone?"

"Sure." Hodgins handed over his phone and stepped away.

Booth stared at the screen for a moment. His eyes were still tired, which made his vision somewhat blurry when he stared at bright objects. The doctor had said not to worry, that it would pass the more he rested, but it made it difficult to do some things. After another moment, Booth found what he was looking for and called Cam's cell.

"Hey, Hodgins, is something wrong? I shouldn't be too long," said Cam.

"It's not Hodgins, Camille," said Booth.

"Seeley! Are you alright? Why are you using Hodgin's phone?"

"I'm fine. I don't have my phone right now, and I wanted to know where you and Aubrey are." He heard a sigh of relief from the other end of the phone.

"I just got to Aubrey's apartment. I'm waiting for him to get his things, then we'll be on our way."

"Is Aubrey okay? I don't remember much, but I remember that he seemed pretty down."

"He's sad, but he can't wait to see you. He's missing you."

"I miss him. He's a good friend, Cam."

"That he is."

"Can I talk to him?"

"When we get to the hospital, you can. You're meant to be resting, not calling people."

"I am resting. I'm sitting in bed, under the blankets, with a pillow behind my back. I'm doing nothing other than talking to you. That's pretty much what the doctor ordered."

"Sitting? You shouldn't be sitting with a wound in your stomach!"

"Relax, Cam. I'm sitting as much as I can. It looks like I'm slouched in a beanbag right about now. My stomach is fine."

"You better not be lying to me, Seeley Booth."

"Why would I lie about it? You were here last night, you saw how I am. It's not like I have any strength to do more than what I am doing."

"I'm coming now. In half an hour, I'll be there, and you had better be resting properly."

"I am. I'll see you soon, Cam." Booth ended the call before Cam could think of anything else to worry about. "Hodgins, thanks for the phone," he said, handing it back.

"Are they coming?"

"Yes. Cam said about half an hour."

"Alright. Maybe, when they get here," said Angela as she and Brennan came over to the bed, "I can borrow Brennan for a while? I need to do something, but I can't do it alone."

"Of course you can borrow Bones. She's your best friend. Why are you asking me?" Booth asked, trying not to show how glad he was.

"Well, you are laying in a hospital bed with serious injuries. I just wanted to make sure that you'd be okay on your own for a while."

"I'll be fine. I did just spend several hours alone, after all." Booth smiled cheekily.

Brennan smiled. "I'll have my phone with me, Booth. Call if you need anything."

* * *

Aubrey was so happy to be going to see Booth, but he was also worried. He hadn't seen his friend since they had rescued him. Were the injuries worse than what he first thought? Did something happen during Booth's surgery, or overnight? What if Booth was angry with him for not finding him sooner? He had tried as hard as he could with nothing to go on. Surely Booth would understand that? Aubrey sighed. He just couldn't stop himself from worrying. He had made up an excuse when came had asked why he looked exhausted that morning, but he was tired because he hadn't slept. Every time he had shut his eyes, Aubrey had seen Booth, bruised and bloodied, unable to walk alone. He saw his friend collapse in his fiance's arms, saw the paramedics working quickly to stop the blood pumping from his injuries. He saw the heart monitor's screen, with Booth's heart rate dropping several times. His mind had been in overdrive, conjuring up images of Booth being declared dead at the scene, or at the hospital, of Brennan crying over Booth's coffin...

"Aubrey? Are you okay?" asked Cam as they pulled into the hospital's parking lot.

"Sorry?" Aubrey asked.

"What's wrong? You've been quiet the whole drive here. I thought you would have been excited to see Booth?"

"I can't wait to see him, I just..."

"It's not your fault, you know that, right? You didn't do anything to Booth."

"I know."

"Don't blame yourself for any of this. I know for a fact that Booth doesn't blame you- he just wants to see you."

"Is he okay? I know you saw him last night."

"He's exhausted, but he'll be fine," said Angela as they passed by Brennan and Angela in the hospital's entrance.

"Where are you two going?" asked Cam.

"I need Brennan's help with something for Booth," said Angela. "And, I needed a friend to come with me to the spa- Hodgins chickened out at the last minute."

"And you actually agreed to this, Dr Brennan?"

"I did. Hodgins is with Booth, and the two of you will be there, as well. He'll be okay for a couple of hours," answered Brennan.

Cam nodded in surprise. "Okay. Well, we'll let you know if you need to come back, then, I guess. See you soon." She watched for a moment as Brennan and Angela headed away, then led Aubrey up to Booth's room.


	6. Chapter 6

Booth was relieved when Brennan followed Angela out of the hospital room. He wanted her to rest and relax, and he needed her to be gone a while so that she wouldn't accidentally see what Hodgins was going to bring to him.

"You let Brennan go with Angela?" asked Cam a moment later.

"I did. I want her to relax for the day. Is that a problem?" Booth said.

"No... I'm just surprised that she went and that you let her go at the moment, that's all."

"I'm fine. I can be away from Bones, you know."

"Booth?" came a tentative voice from the door.

"Aubrey! Why are you standing in the doorway?" asked Booth. "It's not like the room is full."

"Are you okay?" Aubrey asked, still in the doorway.

"I'm fine. Come in here already, I can't see you very well from this bed."

"Are your eyes a problem?"

"No, you're hidden by a wall! Aubrey, come here!" Booth exclaimed.

A minute passed, then Aubrey finally stepped closer to the bed. "Are you going to get better?"

"Of course I will. I still have a lot to teach you!" grinned Booth.

"You don't need to teach me..."

"Oh, I do!" Booth laughed, then he sobered up. "Thank you for finding me, Aubrey."

"Always, Booth. You're my friend."

"And thank you for looking out for Bones as well. I know that couldn't have been easy."

"Actually, Dr Brennan was surprisingly helpful. She found some letters that might help me work out who it was that did this to you. Unless you want to tell me, that is?"

"He's just been released from prison. I don't remember his name."

"No problem. I think I know who it is. I need to go through my notes when I go back to work."

"Okay. Until then, however, let's just hang out. We haven't done that for a while."

"No, we haven't."

"You know, you don't need an invitation to come over, right?"

Aubrey smiled. "I'm waiting for the one printed on golden paper, actually."

"Oh... you might be waiting a while for that one. I don't think it's been made yet."

Aubrey laughed, and with that, the tension in the atmosphere was gone. Booth was relieved to see that Aubrey was happy- he had been worried about his friend for a few minutes.

"Hey, did you forget about me?" Cam asked once the room was as quiet as it could be with Booth still attached to the monitors.

"No-one could ever forget you, Camille," said Booth cheekily.

"Gee, thanks," said Cam, her voice oozing sarcasm.

"You were here last night, weren't you?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I just remember talking to you, though it feels kind of fuzzy and disjointed."

"You had a lot of pain-killers in your system last night, plus the anesthetic as well. That's a normal feeling."

"Where was Bones?"

"She wanted to go for a walk. I think that she really just wanted to cry without you knowing. She was okay, though."

"Thank you for being there for her, Cam."

"It's funny. You two seem to think along the same lines. Brennan thanked me for being there for you last night."

"Well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike," grinned Booth just as Aubrey's phone rang.

"Hello?" asked Aubrey. "Yeah, sure. Give me a second, Hodgins." Aubrey handed the phone to Booth. "It's for you."

"Hodgins? What's wrong?" Booth asked.

"What? Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check something with you."

Booth let out a breath. "Okay."

"All I found in that drawer was a small gift bag. There's something hard in it."

"That's the one. I don't need the bag, you can just get the box out from it."

"Okay. Do you want anything else while I'm here?"

Booth almost said no, then thought of something. "Actually, there's a bag in the closet. It belongs to Bones. Can you bring that with you?"

"Of course. I'll see you soon."

"Thank you, Hodgins." Booth handed the phone back to Aubrey.

"What did he find?" asked Cam.

"If you stay long enough, you'll get to find out. Could you call Angela and see if she can bring Bones back here?"

"Sure." Cam stepped out of the room.

"Aubrey?"

"Yeah, Booth?"

"I need you to help me with something before Bones gets here."

"Just tell me what you need."

"I need some proper food, not this hospital crap. Like, maybe a pizza or burgers, or something along those lines. If everyone wants to stay, that's fine, but I just need to make this as romantic as I can since I'll be stuck in bed for quite a while."

"I can do that. I can be back in fifteen minutes if I go now."

"Go." Booth smiled. "Thanks, James. I really appreciate this."

"I know you do. I'll see you soon."


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was coming together nicely. The hospital room was still dingy, but Aubrey had managed to find some nice decorations to hang around the room. He had not only gotten some real food for everyone to eat, but he had even found a lovely looking cake. Hodgins had arrived back at the hospital just a moment after Aubrey, carrying the bag and box Booth had asked him to get, and Cam had told him that Angela and Brennan would be back in less than half an hour. His hastily concocted plan was coming together exactly as he had envisioned it.

"Booth, where do you want me to put this box?" Hodgins asked.

"I'll take it. I doubt I'll be able to reach it otherwise," answered Booth. He took the small box from his friend and tucked it safely beneath his pillows.

"Booth? Are you okay?" demanded Brennan a couple of minutes later as she rushed into the room. They could all hear Angela coming up the hall, trying to slow her friend down.

"I'm fine, Bones. I just missed you, that's all," said Booth as sincerely as he could, knowing that that wasn't the real reason he had asked for her to come back early.

Brennan smiled and slowed herself. "I missed you, too," she said as she climbed up next to him and wrapped him in a soft hug.

"Actually, Bones? There's something I wanted to show you."

Brennan let go of Booth and looked at him, concern clouding her eyes. "Okay..."

"There's something important that I've been wanting to show you for a while now." Booth took a breath and pulled the box from under his pillow. "I had planned to do something more romantic for this. With the situation I'm in, it looks like I might be here a while, and I really don't want to wait any longer than I have. I've already passed the day I wanted to do this on."

"Booth?"

"This is for you, Bones," said Booth, handing over the box. "Happy birthday."

Brennan smiled and opened the box. "Booth! This is... it's..."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! Thank you." Brennan reached into the box and pulled out a silver necklace chain. A small charm hung from the bottom, and she traced over the word with her finger. "Bones..." she whispered before throwing her arms around Booth and hugging him as tightly as she dared.

"You're welcome," said Booth once Brennan let go. "Do you want to wear it?"

Brennan handed over the necklace. "I'll never take it off, Booth."

"Well, I hope you won't. I think it looks perfect on you."

"Booth's right, sweetie," said Angela, "it is perfect."

"I completely forgot about my birthday while we were searching for you, Booth," said Brennan. "I didn't even care about it. It's not much of a great day if my fiance isn't there to help me celebrate it."

"Well, with the help of everyone here, I've organised a birthday party for you."

"How did you manage this when I haven't left... That's why Angela suddenly needed my help, isn't it?"

"Guilty as charged," grinned Booth. "I had to get rid of you for a while to do all of this, and I figured you could use some girl time. Two birds with one stone."

"I don't need a party..."

"You were going to get one, regardless of where I was. I was actually finalising everything when I was grabbed. So, maybe it's not what I really wanted to do for you, but it's still a party of sorts. I hope you enjoy this," said Booth as Aubrey placed the birthday cake he had found on the rolling table.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Booth was starting to feel tired. He hadn't thought that it was possible to use that much energy while just sitting in bed. He needed to end the party. He was about to get everyone's attention when Aubrey's phone rang.

"Yeah... Okay, I understand... Really? That's great news!... I'm on my way," said Aubrey before pocketing his phone. "Uh, sorry everyone, but I need to go. We just got our suspect into interrogation, and boy, do I have a lot to say to him."

"What suspect?" asked Booth.

"The one that did this to you, actually. I asked to be kept informed, regardless of the time of day or night. I want to throw this jerk in prison for the rest of his life... Er... I mean, I want to do my job and make sure justice is served."

"We know exactly what you mean, Aubrey," said Angela. "Go, we'll save you some cake for later. Make sure that the idiot that's responsible for Booth's injuries never sees the sun again."


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, boss, where do you need me?" asked Aubrey as soon as he set foot in the FBI squad room.

"Interrogation two. Suspect is already in there," said Andrew. "You sure it's this guy that hurt Booth?"

"Booth was the one that gave me the description, and Dr Brennan gave me the proof to back it up. I'm one hundred percent sure."

"Then let's get in there. I want him behind bars as soon as possible. Nobody gets to hurt my agents."

Aubrey smiled. Andrew was an amazing boss. He was protective of those that worked for him, but even more so when it came to Booth. Nobody was sure why that was, but they didn't question it. Everyone was fond of Booth, after all.

"If he's the one, I want him behind bars for the rest of his life," continued Andrew.

"Me too," agreed Aubrey.

"We need to be one hundred percent sure before we call Caroline in. She's been breathing down my neck ever since Booth went missing."

"Don't worry. We'll get the answers we need," said Aubrey before opening the door to the interrogation room and stepping inside. "Mr Watson, do you know why you're here?"

"I was told that someone stabbed and shot Agent Booth," said Watson.

"That someone was you, wasn't it?"

"No..."

"Don't lie to me. I have an eyewitness that places you at the scene where Agent Booth was shot and stabbed. I have a detailed statement from Agent Booth himself describing exactly what happened to him and who did it."

"Fine," said Watson, "I did it. But, I didn't want to, I swear!"

"That was too easy. You didn't even argue the point with me."

"Why should I? If Agent Booth saw me, then I'm dead anyway. But, I'm telling you the truth, I was put up to this by someone else."

"Who put you up to this?"

"I can't tell you that."

"If you don't, you're going down for this."

"If I tell you, I'll be dead."

"We can keep you safe, Mr Watson."

"No, you can't."

"We can. You just need to tell me who put you up to this."

"I can't. I can tell you that Agent Booth is still in danger though. He really wanted Agent Booth dead."

"Who is he?" asked Andrew as he slammed the interrogation room door behind him.

Watson swallowed hard as Andrew leaned on the table next to him. He shivered as Andrew stepped into his personal space and glared at him.

"Okay, okay! His name is Steven Drew! I met him in prison a year ago. He was getting out and mentioned making Agent Booth pay for locking him up. I was still angry with Agent Booth for putting me in prison, so I told him that I would help as soon as I was out. I forgot about that, but he didn't. The day I was released, Drew called me and reminded me of our agreement. He told me where I could find Agent Booth and what I should do to kill him!"

"He told you to seriously injure a federal agent and then make sure he drowns?"

"He wanted me to shoot Agent Booth and hide him away so that he would die a slow death. I had to improvise when Agent Booth managed to run away after I shot him."

"So you decided to throw him into a tank of water and let him die there?"

"I just wanted to hide him for a while, I swear! I got cold feet at the last minute and decided that I would go back and free him after I met up with Drew and convinced him that Agent Booth wasn't going to be saved."

"You thought Agent Booth would still be alive by then?" asked Aubrey as he scribbled furiously on a notepad.

"I knew the cold water would slow the bleeding from his wounds and keep him from bleeding to death. I was buying myself some time."

"Did you know that we found Agent Booth only a few hours after you put him in that tank? And, did you know that, when we found him, Agent Booth was barely conscious and had already lost too much blood? You weren't saving him, you were saving yourself. You did exactly what Drew wanted!"

"No..."

"Yes." Aubrey stood up and collected his notes. "Mr Watson, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a federal agent. Because you were only out on parole, you'll be going back to prison this afternoon, and you won't be seeing the outside world ever again. I hope that you think what you've done is worth it."

Aubrey and Andrew left the room and closed the door behind them. Aubrey could feel the anger radiating off of his boss as they grabbed a cup of coffee from the break room.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked Aubrey. "I know you and Booth are pretty close."

"I'll be alright," said Andrew after a moment. "I'm angry, but I will be fine. How's Booth doing anyway?"

"He's getting better slowly. He's still weak and exhausted, the doctors are keeping a close eye on him because of the blood loss and possible hypothermia, but they say he'll make a full recovery."

"Good... I might need to go and see him after work, though. Just to make sure that he's okay."

"I'm heading back to the hospital when I finish up from here. You can come with me."

"Yeah, I might do that, actually." Andrew nodded at Aubrey. "Thank you. I'm just going to go and get some agents to find this Steven Drew guy before we head out."

"Okay." Aubrey placed his mug in the sink and started washing it, watching his boss walk away in a bit of a daze.


	9. Chapter 9

Booth was falling asleep when he heard the door to his hospital room open. He let his eyes open a fraction after a moment, and smiled when he saw that Aubrey had returned.

"There's cake in the mini fridge," said Booth by way of greeting. He pointed to a small fridge across from his bed.

"I hope there's enough for me, Booth," said Andrew from the doorway.

"Sir," answered Booth automatically. He tried to pull himself into a seated position, but stopped when Aubrey gently pushed him back against the slightly raised bed head and pillows. "Sorry if I don't get up," he added tiredly.

"Just rest. I need you to heal so you can come back to work." Andrew smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a truck ran me down," admitted Booth. "The morphine hasn't kicked in just yet," he explained.

"Do you want us to leave?" Aubrey asked, though he was already digging into a large slice of cake and had no intention of actually leaving.

"No. You can stay."

"Good. This cake is delicious, by the way."

"You bought it, Aubrey. I'm sure you knew it was good," grinned Booth.

"Did the doctor say anything about when you can go home?" Andrew asked hopefully.

"Just that I'm healing well. I don't know when I'll be home." Booth shrugged. "I'm not exactly feeling ready to go anywhere yet."

"That's understandable. Let me know if you need anything?"

"Of course," said Booth with a grin. "You know what I need right now?"

"Tell me."

"Stop being so gloomy! I'm fine."

"He really is, Andrew," Aubrey added through a mouthful of cake.

"Did you catch the guy that did this to me?" Booth asked.

"Yes..."

"But what?"

"Well... he claims he was put up to it."

"By?"

Aubrey hesitated. He didn't think that telling Booth was a good idea at that moment- the agent needed to heal, not make his injuries worse.

"Aubrey? Who put Watson up to it?"

"It was Steven Drew," said Andrew when Aubrey hesitated again. "Do you know him?"

Booth frowned. "The name rings a bell," he said, "but I couldn't tell you why. Did I put him in prison?"

"According to Watson, Drew was angry with you for being in prison, so I guess so. I've got agents searching files to see what your connection to Drew is."

"I'm not worried for me, really, but I need to know that Bones is safe, Andrew," said Booth anxiously. "She's not in any danger, is she?"

"I doubt it. It sounds like they wanted you only. I'll have agents posted outside your hospital room to keep you safe, and I will see what I can do about Dr Brennan's safety. Is she likely to allow agents to protect her?"

"Probably not," said Aubrey with a small smile.

"She would, actually," said Booth suddenly. He looked at Aubrey. "James, you would be able to do it. She'd let you look after her."

"Me?"

"Yes. She trusts you, she knows you. You found me for her, so she knows that you keep your promises. If there is anybody other than me that she feels safe with, it's you."

Aubrey smiled. "That's good to know," he said happily as the door to the room opened.

"Hi, everyone," said the newcomer. "I'm Doctor Lions. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I need to ask you to give us the room for the next half hour so I can check on Agent Booth."

"That's fine," said Andrew. "We should be going back to work anyway. Booth, don't forget to call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Thanks, sir," answered Booth as he gave a small wave goodbye.

"Sorry to make your friends leave," said Dr Lions as he started to check the machines next to Booth's bed.

"It's not a problem," said Booth, "I was going to have to send them off soon enough anyway so I can get some sleep before Bones comes back."

The doctor looked at his patient for a moment. "Why do you call her Bones?"

"I've always called her that. I think it was just fun for me at first, but now it's a habit."

"Doesn't she get annoyed?" he asked as he pulled his stethoscope out of his coat pocket.

"She used to tell me off whenever I called her Bones, but now she just lets it go." Booth paused while the doctor listened to his lungs, then said, "I think we both got so used to it, that it's become an endearing nickname."

The doctor put away his stethoscope and, while making a note on Booth's chart, said, "it's an interesting nickname, for sure. Do you ever call her by her actual name?"

Booth shook his head. "I don't think so."

Dr Lions smiled. "I think it's pretty sweet."

Booth grinned at his doctor before settling back into his pillows. He allowed the doctor to check him over while he thought about the doctor's question. Had he ever actually called his fiance by her first name?

"Okay, Agent Booth, I need to check your stomach and your leg, okay?"

"Okay."

"Did you want something for the pain first?"

"No, I'll be fine."

Dr Lions nodded. He moved the blanket from Booth's stomach and legs, then carefully lifted the hospital gown. He gently peeled back the small bandage that he had applied to the stomach wound and gave a satisfied nod.

"This wound is healing quite nicely. We can probably remove the stitches in the next day or two, and then we could look into sending you home a couple of weeks after that, though you will be on crutches until your leg heals," said the doctor.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"It's dependent on how you go, but I think we might be able to reduce your recovery time."

"I like that even more," said Booth happily.

Dr Lions laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet, okay?" He grabbed a wet cloth and gently cleaned up the dried blood that had been left around the edge of the stitched wound. "Does that hurt?"

"A little," admitted Booth, "but it's surprisingly not as sore as my leg is."

"Your leg was worse off, that's for sure. The bullet tore through quite a bit of the muscle and exited the back of your thigh. Luckily, it didn't damage the bone, but it did nick your femoral artery, which is why you lost so much blood."

"It also explains why I couldn't stand on that leg, then. I think that the adrenaline must have been what was pushing me forward until I passed out. When I was in that water tank, I felt my leg shaking almost constantly, and I lost my balance several times."

"That makes sense. When we went in to operate, the muscle in your leg looked like it had been through a mincer. You're going to need physical therapy to regain the strength in those muscles."

"How long will that take?"

"Depends on you. We can probably do most of the therapy as an outpatient, but you will need to start it in here so I can assess if you're ready to leave."

"When can I start?"

"Not until your stomach has healed more. I'll need to remove the stitches in both wounds before we can even think of getting you started, which is why you won't be able to leave straight after the stitches in your stomach are taken out- unless you want to be in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks?"

"No, thank you." Booth grimaced as the doctor touched his thigh.

"Sorry," said the doctor.

"No, that's fine, keep going," Booth said through gritted teeth.

The doctor apologised again and continued to unwrap the bandage around Booth's thigh. He was glad to see that there wasn't any blood leaking from the wound and the stitches were all still intact.

"Still okay to continue?" he asked Booth as he grabbed another wet cloth.

"Yeah," said Booth after a moment.

Dr Lions nodded. He gently touched the cloth to the skin around the wound, then glanced up at the heart monitor when the beeping increased. He pulled the cloth back and asked, "want me to stop?"

"No, it has to be done, right?"

"It does. I can give you something for the pain."

"No. Please, just continue," said Booth as he breathed through the worst of the pain.


	10. Chapter 10

Dr Lions was surprised at the high level of pain tolerance that Booth exhibited. It was rare that someone could sit through a wound cleaning as it was without the use of pain killers, but for a wound as deep and bad as Booth's leg wound, barely anybody could go through that without a local anesthetic. Booth had been in obvious pain, but had pushed through it. The heart monitor's display had skyrocketed from a normal sixty-five beats to almost one hundred and ten beats while the doctor had cleaned the wound. While the monitor was now showing that Booth's heart rate had returned to normal, it was clear that the pain had taken its toll on the man, who was now fast asleep thanks to the pain killers that the doctor had had to administer to help Booth's body return to normal.

"Dr Lions?" asked Brennan as she quietly slipped into her fiance's room.

"Good evening, Dr Brennan," answered the doctor with a smile. "How was your afternoon?"

"Long. I never knew that I could lose focus, but I did today... How's Booth doing?"

"He's doing well, actually. I've just given him some pain killers, despite his protests, so that his heart rate could return to normal."

"What happened?"

"He refused any pain relief while I was checking and cleaning the wounds," explained the doctor.

Brennan smiled. "Of course he did," she said with a laugh.

"We were discussing sending him home, actually."

"Really? When?" Brennan asked hopefully.

"Not for at least a couple more weeks, but as long as his wounds continue to heal well, I should be able to remove the stitches in his stomach in a couple of days, and, once that heals more, he'll be able to start therapy for his leg. By then, the stitches will be out from that wound as well."

"That's good..."

"But?"

Brennan sighed, knowing that she would need an answer to her question pretty soon. "Well, he's... Can he still work in the field? He's not going to like being behind a desk."

"I see no reason why he can't go back to his job, Doctor Brennan. I've treated people with worse injuries and they've returned to their jobs as firefighters, police, pretty much every job you can think of."

Brennan sighed again, this time out of relief. "He'll be happy to know that. Thank you."

The doctor gave Brennan a smile and walked away, glancing back after a moment to see that Brennan was laying on her partner's bed, her arm draped over his chest as she snuggled close.

* * *

Brennan hadn't meant to fall asleep. In fact, she didn't even realise that she had fallen asleep until she felt something tickling her face. She opened her eyes with a small start and looked up to find Booth grinning at her.

"You had to do that, didn't you?" she asked, though her own grin gave away her happiness.

"Well, I didn't want to scare you by calling your name... Besides, I tried calling you, and you must have been in a deep sleep since you didn't seem to hear me."

"I didn't mean to..."

"To what, Bones? Sleep? Even you can't go without sleeping. I don't mind."

"I spoke to your doctor. He said that you're healing quite well."

"I know. He told me the same thing. I might go home sooner than I thought."

"You have to listen to him, okay? I need you to listen to him so you can come home."

"I'll listen, especially when I have the bone expert to force me into listening," grinned Booth.

"Booth..." warned Brennan.

"I'm serious, I will listen. I want to go home, too."

"You had better listen." Bones let out a sigh. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Bones." Booth leaned his head on Brennan's head and kissed her. "I love you," he repeated as they fell into a comfortable silence.

* * *

"Okay, thanks for the update. I'll tell everyone and we'll come by tomorrow afternoon," said Cam as she ended her call with Brennan.

Cam felt herself let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. It made sense that she was worried. Booth, after all, was a very good friend of hers, and she cared a lot about him. She had been afraid for him when he was missing, and that fear hadn't really gone away until now. Brennan's assurances that Booth was doing well gave her a sense of relief that she knew would be well received by everyone else.

"Angela, can you round up everyone and bring them up here," Cam called from the catwalk above the main lab.

Barely five minutes later, Angela, Hodgins and Aubrey were sitting on the couch in front of Cam, waiting for her to tell them why she had called them up there.

"I just spoke to Dr Brennan," began Cam, knowing that she would be interrupted.

"Is Booth okay?" asked Hodgins and Aubrey together.

"Is Brennan alright?" Angela asked.

"Dr Brennan is fine. She assures me that she's just tired. I'm also told that Booth is okay. His doctor said that he's doing better than they expected him to be doing. Dr Brennan mentioned that the doctor is looking at sending Booth home in a couple of weeks, providing that he continues to heal well and listens to his care team," said Cam.

"He's coming home? But... his injuries..." said Aubrey worriedly.

"The doctor is happy with the way the wounds are healing. He's looking at removing the stitches from Booth's stomach in a few days time so that the wound can finish healing. By this time next week, the hope is that Booth will be getting around with the use of crutches and starting physical therapy."

"That's good," said Hodgins, "right?"

"It is good. The sooner Booth can start therapy, the sooner he can get back to work. We all know that his job means a lot to him. He won't be happy if he can't get back into the field."

"What can we do to help?" asked Angela.

"At the moment, Dr Brennan just wants us to keep visiting. She said that Booth seemed very happy having all of us around earlier, and she feels that he heals from traumas a lot faster when we're cheering him up."


	11. Chapter 11

Caroline sensed the strange atmosphere in the FBI building the moment she walked out of the elevator. The usual noise was gone, even though everyone seemed to be busy. Nobody was talking as they worked, which was also strange. Even the agents that normally greeted her from their desks or when passing by seemed oblivious to her presence. It wasn't right.

"Ms Julian!" called Andrew from his office door. He was beckoning her towards him.

"Andrew? What's going on here?" asked Caroline as she stepped into the office. "It's too quiet out there. Where's Booth? He normally greets me the moment he sees me coming."

"Agent Booth isn't here."

"Where is he?"

"In the hospital," said a voice behind Caroline.

Turning around, Caroline spotted Aubrey in the doorway. He had clearly just gotten in, and looked as though he hadn't slept for a while. "Why is Booth in the hospital?" she asked her second favourite agent.

"He was injured." Aubrey sighed. "I'll fill you in after I get a coffee. I'll meet you in Booth's office so I can continue to go through his cases while we talk."

Caroline turned back to Andrew. "The kid hasn't slept, Andrew. How bad is Booth?"

"Pretty bad. Aubrey was at Booth's place all night, watching over Dr Brennan," said Andrew. "We tried to get him to go home this morning, but he refused- said he wanted to find the person responsible."

"I'll talk to him. He'll go home if I tell him. And, if that fails, I'll call Booth and have him talk to Aubrey." Caroline walked out and entered her favourite agent's office.

"Sorry about before," said Aubrey. "I'm tired."

"Andrew says you haven't been home yet," said Caroline.

"I'm not going home until Booth is safe. I'm sure you understand that, Caroline. I know that Booth means a lot to you."

"He does, however, you cannot function without sleep. How are you going to help Booth if you pass out?"

Aubrey looked up at Caroline. "You're right," he admitted. "Everyone out there," he said, pointing in the general direction of the bull pen, "they're looking through the same files I am. I just can't bring myself to leave right now."

"Booth won't be angry if you go home for a few hours, cherie."

"I know that."

"I don't think you do. Without knowing what happened, I'd say that you've been blaming yourself for Booth getting injured. It's not your fault, and I'm quite sure that Booth has already told you that." Caroline gave a satisfied smirk when Aubrey looked at her. Her job was done. "So, tell me what happened."

Aubrey nodded. "Booth was kidnapped. That's how this all started."

"Kidnapped by who?"

"Jason Watson. He said he was put up to it by Steven Drew. We're looking into that."

"What did Watson do to Booth?"

"Stabbed him in the stomach and shot him in the thigh. He then threw Booth into a water tank, with water in it, and left him there to die. The cold water slowed the bleeding from his wounds, but also caused him to lose consciousness in the end."

"And now? How is he doing?"

"He's doing okay, but he's still critical. Last night, the doctor said he was happy with Booth's progress and they're looking at sending him home in a couple of weeks time, which is better than the original estimate of at least a month."

"Have you been to see him?"

"A couple of times. Why?"

"I was just wondering why you still seem so sad, despite knowing that Booth will be okay." Caroline smiled slightly. "I'll tell you what, how about you go home and sleep for a few hours, and I'll get Dr Brennan and go visit Booth. She'll be safe there, so you won't need to worry about her."

"How did you know?"

"Andrew mentioned you were protecting her."

"We don't know if she's in danger. This is just a precaution."

"I understand. Now, go home, before I drive you there myself."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Caroline was following Brennan up to Booth's hospital room. She had picked up her friend like she had told Aubrey, and they had stopped for coffee and some donuts that Booth loved from the diner. The smell wafted from the bag in Caroline's hand as they walked in silence, both lost in their thoughts.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Booth's voice as they stepped into the room.

Caroline shook her head, clearing the thoughts that had started to swirl around. She grinned. "It might be," she said, "if you're doing as well as I'm told you are."

"You're back from New York, Caroline?" Booth asked, giving the prosecutor a huge smile.

"I am, cherie." Caroline dropped the bag onto Booth's lap and gave her favourite agent a hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Morphine is quite helpful, did you know that?" Booth asked his friend as Brennan sat next to him and leaned in for a cuddle.

"So I've been told. Aubrey tells me that you may get to leave here in a couple of weeks?"

"Maybe. It depends on what the doctor thinks when he takes out the stitches and I've started therapy."

"So, then, you'll be out of here in a couple of weeks."

Booth laughed. "You sound so sure."

"I am sure. You have never met a challenge that you can't beat. This is not going to be your downfall, I know that."

"Well," said Booth, "you aren't wrong there. I don't plan on being here longer than necessary. Are you staying a while?"

"I'm not needed right now, so yes, I'll stay for a bit." Caroline sat on the end of the bed. "Are you going to share those delicious donuts with us?"


End file.
